UPDATE -- US F-16 crashes in Pacific; pilot rescued:

This file photo from 2007 shows an Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon waits for its next mission at Balad Air Base, Iraq. Courtesy Defense Department TOKYO - A U.S. fighter jet crashed into the ocean off the coast of Japan on Sunday morning, but the pilot ejected safely and was plucked from the Pacific Ocean by rescuers hours later. The F-16 from Misawa Air Base hit the water about 11:30 a.m. Pacific time, roughly 200 miles northeast of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, according a news release from Misawa. The pilot, whose name was withheld pending family notification, was rescued about six hours later and was in stable condition Sunday night aboard a U.S. vessel at sea, according to the release. Several agencies, including the Japanese Coast Guard, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy, as well as civilian vessels in the area, responded, ...